Sherrone Moore radio show highlights: Michigan coach on Colston Loveland, Will Johnson, 'historic' Ohio State rivalry, more

Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore made his weekly performance on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show ahead of his team’s game against Ohio State. Here are the highlights from his conversation with host and former U-M All-American Jon Jansen.

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On the status of Michigan TE Colston Loveland, who missed the second half of the Northwestern game with an injury

He’s trending in a good direction to be available, so we’ll just continue to work and see what happens.

On Loveland’s impact on the program

It’s been huge. Ironically, his first touchdown was in the ‘Shoe in 2022 as a true freshman. So he’s just been extremely impactful in every way — on the field, obviously, but off the field as a leader. Even as a junior, he’s a guy that’s a leader that people look to. Just does everything the right way, works his tail off and is going to be a phenomenal pro.

On the status of Michigan CB Will Johnson, who hasn’t played since the first quarter of a loss at Illinois Oct. 19

We’ll see about that one. Continue to just work through and see what the doctors say.

On the threat of a downfield passing attack, and how wide receiver Tyler Morris has stepped up lately

It’s huge. You gotta have that. You gotta be able to back people up, and he’s done a really good job. We’ve definitely put him in positions to be successful, and he’s taken advantage of it and made plays, so excited to watch him this game.

On Michigan junior defensive tackle Mason Graham’s impact

Unbelievable. Just a tireless worker, a grinder. A guy that doesn’t say much, but when you put on the film and you watch him in practice, he speaks loudly to you. He just continues to do that. And just happy that he’s on our team.

You thought he’d be a really impactful player, you just didn’t know when. And when he got on campus, it was immediate. I remember [former Michigan offensive lineman] Trevor Keegan telling me, ‘Coach, this dude’s the best dude on the D-line.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He was like, ‘Yes, this dude right here.’ He said, ‘He’s gonna be the best one.’ And he ended up being really good.

He was impactful right away. I think the leverage piece, the hands all come from his wrestling background. But the guy is super smart, he studies it and he’s a really good player.

On defensive backs Makari Paige (safety to nickel) and Zeke Berry (nickel to corner) have handled switching positions

They’ve never flinched — all of them. They just keep doing whatever they have to do to go compete for the team. Guys like Zeke Berry going from nickel to safety to corner. Makari playing safety and nickel. [Graduate cornerback] Aamir Hall ended up going in there, starting and playing really well.

So all of those guys are playing at a really good level, and young guys like [sophomore safety] Brandyn Hillman coming along. It’s just fun to be a part of a group of guys that are so selfless.

On what a win over Ohio State would mean for Michigan

It’d be great. I think our guys work continuosly for this game every year. This is the one that’s always marked. I think records in this game, as everybody knows, really don’t matter. For us, it’s about going to execute and compete on Saturday.

On Michigan being an underdog heading into a hostile environment

I think our guys thrive off of the fans and the noise, the crowd noise and people around us not thinking we can go win. Our guys really want to go just play the best game that they can, for each other, for the seniors, for all the guys that are possibly moving on to the next step. That’s all our guys are thinking about, they’re doing everything they can to go win this game.

On Ohio State’s offense

Explosive. Complete. They can run it, they can throw it. The quarterback’s really good. He’s efficient, he’s playing really well right now for them. People talk about their offensive line being reshuffled, but they’re playing really good football, too. It’s gonna be a big challenge for us, but we gotta go down there and execute.

On Ohio State edge rushers Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau

It feels like those two have been there forever. Cool story about both of those guys. [Former Michigan offensive lineman] Zak Zinter gets hurt last year and breaks his leg, and J.T. was the first one that came up and said, ‘Praying for him.’ Jack, the same thing, and saying it was bigger than football. So I got a lot of respect for those kids, and the type of players and people they are, more importantly. It spoke a lot to me about those kids and who they are and their whole D-line sitting there praying for him.

I think this rivalry is big, but sometimes things like that are bigger than football. And you see the reality of who these kids are. So they’re really good players, and I got a lot of respect for them.

On what excites him most about Michigan’s game against Ohio State

Oh, just going into another stadium, going into Columbus in the Horseshoe and being in this historic battle, this historic rivalry. I’ve been in it, went there in 2022 and was successful. That’s the goal, to go and win this game.